The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

With a less than a week left to go, Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages has raised more than $23,000 on Kickstarter. The RPG space-shooter is now less than $2,500 from its next stretch goal: a new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) mode.

Fans who have seen the game on YouTube and played the alpha demo are already raving about its limitless customization, with 65 hulls and more than 300 abilities. This flexibility means hundreds of hours of potential gameplay in both campaign and multiplayer modes. By introducing a Newtonian flight and physics model and removing chance-based mechanics like critical strikes and resists, Ring Runner takes action-RPG gameplay to the next level – and to space!

What sets Ring Runner apart from standard space shooters is its story. Ring Runner is based on a full-length Sci Fi novel by the game’s co-creator, E.C. Dryere. Players will take on the role of a Sage, someone who can control the flow of time, snuff out stars, rearrange planets and otherwise focus energy on The Subrostrum, the quantum space beneath atoms. As the game begins, this particular Sage has just woken up from (un)elective brain surgery. The remainder of the 20+-hour campaign is spent traveling the universe, meeting a cast of colorful characters, exploring unexpected locations and discovering a purpose in life.

The combination of storytelling, space-age gameplay and stunning visuals has helped Ring Runner attain its first three goals and fans are anxious to see how far Kickstarter can take the game. Up next after MOBA mode is Dominus Mode ($32,000), where players will customize hulls, hire pilots and pit them against other gladiators in the arena, and Sage-Ball ($36,000), a hockey-like multiplayer mode.

Rewards available to Kickstarter backers include the novel, the game’s original soundtrack, a copy (or several) of the PC game once it is released, and access to the beta release. Players can test-drive the game today by downloading the alpha demo. In addition to Kickstarter, fans can find out more on the game’s website, Facebook and Twitter, and support it on Steam Greenlight.